


Baby's First Pictures

by rufus



Series: Pleading His Belly 'verse [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-09
Updated: 2013-03-09
Packaged: 2017-12-04 17:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/713277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rufus/pseuds/rufus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Many many thanks to Mnemosyne_1 for  the read-through, and pruning my semi-colons. Any remaining mistakes are my own.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Baby's First Pictures

**Author's Note:**

> Many many thanks to Mnemosyne_1 for the read-through, and pruning my semi-colons. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

Colin and Dennis Creevey, war photographers.

They were the men who took the last photographs of Lord Voldemort, traveled with the Aurors as they rounded up the last of the Death Eaters, and sat in the front row of every trial. _The youngest photo editors in a century!_ the Prophet had crowed on their first day on the job, under Colin's best shot of Bellatrix Lestrange receiving the Dementor's Kiss.

Six months later Dennis made one tiny mistake (how was he to know that scandal-loving Prophet readers weren't ready for Page 3 girls?) and their empire crumbled. Three months after _that_ , they were shooting celebrity kneazle judging contests for _Witch Weekly_ for rent money and trailing celebrities through Diagon Alley in their free time, hoping they would go into a shop, any shop at all. Colin had been stalking Lorcan D'eath through Eyelop's Owl Emporium one wet fall afternoon (Dennis had ducked into Madam Malkin's, hot on the heels of Celestina Warbeck) when Luna Lovegood popped out from behind a stack of screech owls and offered them a job he had been too startled to decline. 

So now, when he could have ( _should_ have) been at the first session of the reconstituted Wizengamot, watching Harry Potter make his maiden speech, Colin was stuck in Lupin's miserable little cottage in the back of beyond trying to get Severus Snape and his (alleged) daughter to smile for the camera. Dennis, the lucky sod, had gotten a last minute reprieve, and was in the Lake District shooting the opening of a new hippocampus preserve. 

_Click!_

"That's it, lo-sir," Colin said, taking two steps backward. "Bit to the right, now, lovely, thank you." Out of the corner of his eye he saw something move past the parlour window and turned towards it, but when he lowered his camera, there was nothing visible. Snape sniffed pointedly, and Colin summoned his best fake smile before turning back to him. 

_Click!_

"And if you could turn her to face me, please," Colin murmured, nudging the ottoman aside with his knee. He usually didn't mind working for the _Quibbler_. Lovegood might be daft, but she paid well, and well, better ridiculous pictures than none at all. But really, this assignment took the bloody biscuit. _First child born to a wizard_ , she had said, her eyes shining. _And I'm the Queen of England,_ he had thought, but he didn't hand it off. He had taken photographs at Snape's trial (he still had some of them, pinned up on the corkboard next to his desk) and a few while he was in Azkaban, but he no more believed Snape had given birth to the child in his arms than in the Easter Bunny. 

_Click!_

"Two more, lo-sir, watch the birdie now," he murmured, waved his wand at the stuffed Fwooper floating above his head, and zoomed in so he got nothing but the baby. Where-ever she came from, she had his hair, right enough, and she had the scowl down as well. _Photos of the century, my arse_ , he thought, and suppressed a sigh. _Dennis is going to go spare, picking a decent shot from this lot._ He made the bird swoop towards the child and do a lazy figure-eight and was (finally!) rewarded with a gummy smile . . .

_Click! Click!_

The front door rattled loudly and something (tree branches?) thumped hard against the side of the house, and the baby started squalling. Colin sighed and called the bird back, while Snape made an irritated noise, shifted her onto his shoulder, and started rubbing her back. _He_ was as pale and ugly as ever, though clearly living with Lupin wasn't doing him any harm. 

He even seemed to be developing a bit of a tummy. 

After a moment Snape stood up and started pacing back and forth, humming quietly as he moved. Colin took his picture, mostly out of habit, and then glanced at the kitchen, debating whether or not he should push the boat out a bit, try and get a "family" shot with Lupin. 

_Or I could come back another time,_ he thought, looking at his watch. If he was quick about it, he might get back to London before Harry was off the dias.

"Right," Colin muttered, and straightened up. "That's me done." 

Snape grunted at him and kept pacing, though the child had (mercifully) subsided into sniffles. _Poor little mite,_ Colin thought, as he settled the Leica against his chest, and pulled his cloak on over his shoulders. _At least she has Professor Lupin to look after her as well._

"I'll just pop through to the kitchen and let t'missus and the professor know we're done, yeah," Colin said, and then the front door banged open and two cloaked, snow-covered figures fell through it. 

_Now **that's** more like it_ , Colin thought, and started shooting, vaguely aware of the baby wailing in the background, and more banging noises as Lupin and Lovegood erupted out of the kitchen. The newcomers were both female, he could tell that much, and one of them had a funeral urn strapped to her chest.

_Click!_

" _Expelliarmus!_ " Lupin roared, and two wands flew out of the tangle of limbs (was that _red_ hair?) and into his hand. Colin turned and clicked off a couple of frames before turning back to the two on the floor, who seemed bent on throttling each other.

_Click! Click!_

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ " Lovegood said, and the red-haired one froze and toppled over. The other one sat up and flipped her hood back, revealing a shock of dark hair, shot through with white and grey, and flat black eyes that matched Snape's own.

_Click!_

" _Mum?_ " Snape said, from behind him, as she struggled to her feet. 

There was a brief pause, and then someone murmured _Finite Incantatum_ and the one on the floor gasped and rolled to her knees, sniffling loudly. Colin inched forward, his finger hovering over the button, but when he saw Molly Weasley through the viewfinder he was so surprised he forgot to take the picture.

" _What_ is the meaning of this?" Lupin growled, and they both started talking at once. 

Colin made out _only doing some spring cleaning_ and _came back from me holidays early_ and _I've just come for my boy and the bairn_ before Lovegood cleared her throat loudly and they all fell silent.

"Hello, Molly, it's good to see you again," she said, softly, and turned to Snape's mum. "I'm Luna Lovegood, from the _Quibbler_ , and I don't believe I've met you before."

"I'm Eileen Snape, and this is my husband, Tobias," Snape's mum said, gesturing towards the urn with her chin. "We've been traveling, he and I, didn't get back until yesterday –"

"Arthur's study needed tidying," Molly burst out. "And he wouldn't do it, so I thought I'd nip in while he and Ronnie were tinkering with that horrid car . . ." She paused to blow her nose, and Colin snuck a look at Snape; he had moved to stand next to Lupin, and they seemed to be _holding hands_. "I – I do the spell all the _time,_ you know, Arthur has so many cousins and sometimes they don't write, and –"

"—and that was when I saw all of the _pictures_ ," Eileen cut in, and gave Colin a brief but ferocious look. "I reckoned it was Polyjuice, at first, and I thought, right, we'll just check the tapestry and sort this out, and –"

"Why didn't you _say?_ " Molly wailed, advancing on Snape; Eileen snarled and grabbed her cloak, stopping her in her tracks. "We'd have –"

" – then I saw you'd named her after your _great-grandmother_ , of all people," Eileen continued, as if Molly hadn't spoken, and Colin was surprised when Snape's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed pink.

"I . . . wasn't certain," Snape said, quietly, looking from his mother to Molly Weasley and back again; Colin saw shock flicker across Lupin's face. Snape closed his eyes briefly, before turning back to Molly. "I had a suspicion . . . it was him who looked after me, when Amycus cursed me . . . but it was usually dark, in the cells, so I . . . didn't see his face, and he didn't speak. But he didn't . . . force me."

"Percy always was a good boy," Molly said, and blew her nose again. 

Eileen muttered something that sounded like _for a blood-traitor_ and Lupin gave her a sharp look. The baby coughed and started to wail again. Snape let go of Lupin and resumed pacing, head bowed and narrow shoulders curved forward.

"She's wanting her lunch," Eileen said, sounding very cross, as Colin walked around the four of them, shooting as he moved, until he was standing next to Lovegood. "Now fetch her bottle and your things and we'll be away. Your father is late for his darts game as it is." 

She undid the buckles on the harness, set the urn on the floor, crossed her arms over her chest, and gave Snape a look Colin recognized from Fifth Year potions class.

"Away?" Lupin repeated, and Colin took surreptitious a picture of the urn so he wouldn't forget to tell Dennis about it when he got home.

"Well," Lovegood murmured, "I'll go and put the kettle on, will I?" She tucked her wand behind her ear and disappeared into the kitchen.

"I'll fetch something for the little one," Molly Weasley said, and followed her, her face set in tight, anxious lines. 

Colin leaned in through the open door and took a couple of shots of Molly holding a bottle while Lovegood tapped it with her wand, and the two of them talking over the tea things, before turning back to the scene in the parlour. Lupin was now perched on an ottoman, and Eileen had settled down on the sofa, with the urn next to her. Snape had stopped in front of the fireplace and was staring at the urn, looking vaguely like he was about to be sick. 

"You've been very kind to look after him, but I'll take him – them – home with me, now," Eileen said, and started fumbling in the pockets of her robes. The baby coughed twice and started screaming in earnest.

"You won't do anything of the sort," Snape said, swaying back and forth gently, one hand curled around the baby's head, his eyes on Lupin. "I see no reason for me – us – to leave." Colin was about to take the picture when he caught the expression on Lupin's face, and thought better of it.

"Don't be ridiculous, Severus, you're imposing terribly, and besides . . . it's hardly safe here, for a child, is it?" The corners of her mouth turned up in a faint smile as Lupin frowned, and Colin felt a sudden surge of dislike for the woman. 

"Severus is welcome to stay here as long as he likes," Lupin said, and dropped three lumps of sugar in his tea. His face had gone blank, but Colin could see his hands were shaking.

"Did your brewing skills become deficient when I was born?" Snape snapped, and turned to face her, two spots of colour on his cheeks, his eyes dark with irritation. "I assure you, madam, I am perfectly competent –"

The kitchen door creaked open and Lovegood walked in to the room with a pitcher of cream and a sugar bowl in her hands, and six steaming cups of tea floating behind her. Colin reached out and grabbed one as they passed, and then Molly appeared with the bottle in her hand and a dishtowel on her shoulder. She held out her arms for the child, and frowned faintly when Snape took a step backwards. 

Eileen _hmmphed_ into her mug, and smoothed her robes over her knees. Colin gulped down a mouthful of tea and reloaded the camera.

"Arthur says they're managing quite well, all things considered," Molly said, turning to face Eileen. "And I can certainly look in on them, from time to time." 

Snape took the bottle from Molly and slid it into the baby's mouth, and she gurgled at him. His face softened as he looked down at her, and Colin took a picture quickly, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"So Tobias and I are to toddle back to Whitby and leave my granddaughter to be raised by my daft son, a werewolf, and a pack of Gryffindors?" Eileen said, lowering her mug onto her knee. "Well, I bloody well won't have it, I won't – Severus –"

"We could always come and visit you," Lupin said, and they all turned to stare at him. He paused for a moment, and looked at Snape, who gave him a one-shouldered shrug. "Or you could stay here for a bit, if you like. There's another room upstairs, it's not very big, but –"

"There is one condition, and that is that Tobias is to remain in your room and out of my sight for the entirety of your visit," Snape cut in, his voice flat and cold, and the room went very still while they looked at each other.

"That would be . . . acceptable," Eileen said, after a while, and took a sip of tea. "I'll firecall Lysistrata and have her send me my things." 

Molly made a pleased noise, and Lupin gave her a small smile. 

"Well, I am sure you all have a great deal to talk about," Lovegood said, as she stood up and shook her robes back into place. She nodded once at Colin, and stepped into the Floo. 

"Lovely to see all of you again," he said, and moved to stand next to her. Lupin rose slowly, followed by Molly and Eileen, and then Snape. Colin raised his camera and took two final pictures, and then Luna called out _Aurelia House!_ and the world turned green.


End file.
